To be at the point where I'm nonplussed by allegations of sexual misconduct by a teacher is a sad state of affairs. The faculty I work with seems like a group of good people, quirky but decent.  However if one of them were to be hauled away for sending illicit photographs to a minor or passing notes during an exam, would I be soul-searchingly shocked? No.  It has become that present in our society, the breaking of professional roles and boundaries.

Blind Item:

Dinner at Toro at the Marketplace. Over cocktails and sushi, my best friend (a lawyer at a prominent firm), his fiancee and our medical student friend, are discussing a teacher recently discovered to have crossed these professional boundaries. As a sidenote, three of us attended Garces Memorial and have our own insight on the issue.  Several things were discussed.

1. No one was surprised.

2. It is alleged that said teacher has trichotillomania; the condition of excessively pulling out your own hair and eyebrow.

3. Med student friend mentioned that trichotillomania is often accompanied by pika, which is the condition of putting inedible objects in your mouth.

4. There has to be more credence given when everyone gets a weird feeling from someone.  It has to be a natural defense.

A tutor assisting one of the courses I teach had this dubious teacher herself.  She confirmed her own suspicions of trichotillomania and pika. It's an interesting situation, reading about the wolf that is currently being prosecuted and having known all along something was not quite right. It's not self satisfaction but its something close; more akin to guessing the killer in the movie and finding out you were right.